Bridge crane inspection and maintenance ensure your bridge crane safety

bridge crane accidents may injury your safety. Around 70 people died from Bridge crane accidents or related accidents, among which construction laborers, electricians and welders in the related Bridge crane accidents are most likely to be killed, according to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration( OSHA). In order to ensure your safety and prevent your overhead bridge crane from accidents, the Crane Safety and Inspection Requirements should be confirmed with.

Overhead bridge and gantry cranes are the most commonly used material handling equipment used for lifting loads at various industrial sites. bridge cranes are the lifting equipment traveling on an overhead runways structure, working with a movable or fixed hoisting mechanism to handle loads. Whereas, the overhead gantry crane is a crane supported by crane legs which are running on fixed rails or other runway. The safety of the bridge cranes and gantry cranes can be grouped together for they share similarities on traveling and hoisting.

Bridge crane inspection and maintenance ensure your bridge crane safety| Dongqi bridge crane

Crane selection and installation

The selection of material handling equipment such as overhead cranes, gantry crane, electric hoists and ancillary equipment such as hooks, slings, etc. must meet the designing and installation standards and requirements. The lifting equipment has to have sufficient rated capacity for the intended load, and the load should not exceed the lowest load rating markings. Each crane component or part should be marked clearly with the rated capacity. A thorough crane inspection including load testing to a bridge crane and crane supporting structure should be conducted by a professional engineer or manufacturer.

General daily bridge crane inspection requirements

Generally, the following items has to be inspected daily, such as:

Tagged bridge crane or electric hoist, check the bridge crane or electric hoist is tagged with an out-of-order sign.

Control devices,check all motions of control devices such as Up/Down/Fwd/Rev.

Brakes, check to make sure 1) all motions do not have excessive drift and 2) stopping distance are normal (about 10% of high speed travel).

Hook, check hook for damage, cracks, nicks, gouges, deformity of the throat opening, wear on saddle or load bearing point and twist.

Hook latch, check whether the hook latch work properly or not.

 

 

Wire rope

1) Wire rope that have to be checked in the following respects:

Broken wires, 10 wires in one rope lay, and 5 wires in on strand in one rope lay,

Excessive wear, loss of 1/3 of the rope diameters of individual wires.

Kinks

Crushing

Stretching

Birdcaging

 

2) How to measure the wire rope:

a) The components of a wire rope has a small but definite size tolerance. It is to say, the rope itself has a diameter which is equal to the nominal or catalog size at least. b) Any wire rope or red tag should be replaced if any of the mentioned conditions observed.

Load chain, check the load chain and the end connections for excessive wear, twist, distorted links or stretch, beyond the recommendations of the manufacturer.

Reeving, make sure the wire rope or load chain is properly reeved with no twists and make sure the wire rope is seated in drum grooves properly.

Limit switches, make sure the upper limit device can stop the lifting hoist properly without striking any part of the hoist or crane.

Oil leakage, check if there is sign of oil leakage on the crane or on the beneath floor.

Unusual noises , if the bridge crane or electric hoist mechanism makes unusual sounds like squealing, grinding, or unusual vibration, inspection should be conducted.

Warning and safety label and warning devices, to make sure the warning and other safety labels are placed in the right position without missing and make sure the audible and visual warning devices are workable.

Periodic inspection

A periodicbridge crane inspection is a detailed inspection to each component to make sure the working conditions, which is conducted as often as quarterly according to the loading services, application environment and other factors determined by a specialist or according to related standards or requirements, such as, the periodic inspection chart of OSHA:

ASME B 30.2 Service Class	Number of Shifts Operated per Day
	1 Shift	2 Shifts	3 Shifts
Frequency of Inspection
Normal	Annual	Annual	Annual
Heavy	Annual	Semi-annual to annual	Semi-annual
Severe	Quarterly	Quarterly	Quarterly

Structural member. Check the crane structural components such as girder, end trucks, foot walks, trap doors, ladder, hand rails, trolley frame, and cab, et., for deformed, cracked, corroded or unsecured members. And to make sure the right type of fire extinguisher is equipped at cab, etc.

Connection points. Check connection point for loose or broken bolts or rivets, and for cracked or insufficient welds.

Sheaves and drums. Check for worn groove lands, sharp edges and cracks.
Shafts, Axles, wheels, couplings. Check for worn cracked bent or broken parts, loose or missing hardware.
Brakes. Check for proper function of electric control brakes and excessive wear and proper adjustment on brake system parts, linings, pawls and ratchets.

Indicators, gauges. Check for load, wind, and other indicators over their full range, re-calibrate as required.

 

Transmissions. Check for excessive wear of chain drive sprockets and excessive chain stretch, gear teeth wear and proper lubrication.

 

Electric components.
Check all electric apparatus for pitting or controller contactor, limit switches, pushbutton stations, motor slip rings, brushes, resistors. Check for any loose wire connections for damaged wiring, overheating, and make sure door or cover closed properly.

Covers and guards. Make sure all the covers/ guards are in place, secure and undamaged.

Bumpers

End stops

Trolley and runway rail. Check rails and fastening devices for looseness, gaps, misalignment, wear.

Runway structure. Check runway structure for proper anchor, loose bolted connections, and corrosion, cracked or deformed members.

Conductor system. Check for alignment, fastening, splices, power feeds, and conductor shoes for wear.

Below the hook devices. Check for cracks or structural damage, and check mechanical components for wear, alignment, and missing/loose hardware. Check all guards are in place and safe.

 

Bridge crane operational safety

1) Before lifting

Only trained bridge crane operators are allowed to operate the bridge crane.
Focus on your bridge crane operating work.
Test operation of lifting and controls at the beginning of each shift.

 

No bridge bridge crane or electric hoist overload. Make sure the combined weight of lifting devices and the loads do not exceed the rated lifting capacity of the bridge crane or electric hoist.

Make sure loads is balanced and stable. Make a trial lift of a few inches.
Don’t lift dangerous loads unless the lifting devices are specially designed for the loads.

 

Make sure the hoist rope or chain is in the right condition for lifting with no twist, knots and kinks.

 

2） Moving a load

Follow the instruction only from the designated staff.

No ride on the bridge crane is allowed.
Do not life higher than the necessary to avoid obstructions.
Make sure the loads have no contact with other objects.

Make sure the load traveling path is clear from obstructions.
Make sure people stay out from under the load and keep a distance from the load.
Avoid sudden starts and stops. Shock loading may stress the lifting system beyond its capacity.

Make sure the load from swing. Stay clear while moving load and use a rod to push or a tag line to pull the load.
Make sure to always lower load to ground and make loads stable during traveling.
Make sure the lifter is stored properly when finished using. Lifter is heavy and big which may cause injury if not properly stored.

 

Qualification requirements to crane inspector

Crane inspector is a designated person who is engaged in the testing, examination and/ or certification of cranes, such as, top travelling and under running bridge and gantry type, single or double girder overhead traveling cranes and related hoisting equipment, etc.

Physical qualification requirements to crane inspector

• Vision of at least 20/30 in one eye and 20/50 in the other with or without correction.
• Normal depth perception, field of vision, hand eye coordination, and on tendencies to dizziness or similar conditions.
• No physical restrictions, not be subject to seizures or loss of physical control, or emotional instability which could cause a hazard to the technician or others.
• Good hearing, without hear aid, capable of a specific task.
• Be capable of working at extended heights in a safe manner under varying environmental and adverse physical conditions.
• Be capable of reading and writing in English, oral and written communication skills.
• Should be able to distinguish colors if color differentiation is needed for the work.

Training for bridge crane inspector

• The bridge crane inspector should have received the formal training in the following areas:
• Safety and design codes related to cranes,
• State and local codes and regulations,
• Safety operation practices of cranes,
• Report writing and documentation,
• Communication skills.
• Other additional training such as, trade skills, products, safety, tolls and equipment, job-site conduct, etc.
• Testing should be conducted.
• Certification / Licensing

Overhead bridge crane and gantry crane Hand signals

 Bridge crane inspection and crane maintenance ensures your bridge crane safety to prevent bridge crane accident. Bridge crane engineers tips for you to inspect and maintain your bridge crane. High bridge crane safety, No bridge crane accident. Contact us to learn more about bridge crane.